Cutting-edge theater company comes to ASU

By

Sarah A. McCarty

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October 25, 2016

The inventive theater company 600 HIGHWAYMEN has been lauded by the New York Times, American Theatre Magazine, the Wall Street Journal and other publications for its performances, which offer a new way of seeing for today and explore a radical approach to making live art. New Yorker theater critic Hilton Als once declared, “I wish to hear anything that 600 Highwaymen has to say.”

What 600 HIGHWAYMEN has to say now is something the ASU community and surrounding areas can see for themselves when this cutting-edge theater company performs its new work “The Fever” for eight nights at the Galvin Playhouse as part of a residency with the School of Film, Dance and Theatre.

“I think this is one of the most exciting events happening in our school this year,” said Lance Gharavi, assistant director of theater.

Abigail Browde and Michael Silverstone, the artists behind the award-winning 600 HIGHWAYMEN, have made six original works since 2009. They aim to construct performances that illuminate the inherent poignancy and theatricality of people together. With “The Fever,” they examine how we assemble, organize and care for the bodies around us. Performed in complete collaboration with the audience, it tests the limits of individual and collective responsibility and our willingness to be there for one another.

“We're thrilled to be hosted by ASU and to preview our new work,” Silverstone said. “Audiences will experience brand-new writing and will become an essential part of our development process.”

With the shows at Galvin, 600 HIGHWAYMEN offers audiences an early chance to experience “The Fever” before it premieres in The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival in New York in January. Since the nightly performances are part of the development process for the piece, any future production of “The Fever” will include mention of it being developed in part at ASU.

“We are a forward-thinking school, and now the ASU name will be tied to this performance by a forward-thinking theater company,” Gharavi said.

In addition to the performances, 600 HIGHWAYMEN will be working directly with ASU students in workshops and working groups.

“I think our students, most of them will never have seen art like this — mind-expanding art,” Gharavi said.

How to watch

The show runs Oct. 27 – 30 and Nov. 2 – 5 at 8 p.m. each night. Performances are free and open to the public, but seating is extremely limited. To reserve your ticket, call the Herberger Institute Box Office at 480-965-6447. Performances are part of a residency partnership between 600 HIGHWAYMEN; The Public Theater in New York; ASU’s School of Film, Dance and Theatre; and ASU Gammage.